Four Waters in Dreamland
by Ultimoo
Summary: Written a couple of years ago, this story takes a somewhat wild ride through the minds of Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo, while Dr. Andonuts is making them into robots at Saturn Valley, one day before the final battle with Giygas.
1. Apprehension

**  
Four Waters in Dreamland**  


  
by Ultimoo  
ultimoo@aol.com  
  
  
_CHAPTER 1_  
  
"I really don't like the sound of this," Ness exclaimed, a touch of fear in his voice, "you're absolutely sure that this is the only way to survive the phase distorter."  
  
"My only request is that you trust me Ness, for the sake of your own safety, and for the  
future of our world," a stern Dr. Andonuts replied matter-of-factly. For the first time in a while, Ness was seriously worried about the outcome of his adventure. It had been nearly a year since he last heard what was perhaps the most influential voice in his strong confidence. It was that long since he had said goodbye to Buzz Buzz. His train of thought was meandering constantly since the destruction of the sound stone. But now it was just him. In the absence of his companions. With a man who was unarguably the most brilliant scientific thinker of his time.   
  
"I'm just worried....I remember it like it was yesterday that Buzz Buzz told me the prophecy of the Apple of Enlightenment. It didn't say anything about my soul being transferred as data into a robot," Ness collected himself to a reply.  
  
"Android, Ness, an android," Dr. Andonuts corrected him. "It allows you to feel your environment as if you were in your own human likeness."  
  
"I still don't like the sound of this. Correct me if I am wrong, but I will be able to   
physically perform, using the same weapons and provisions as if I was in my current human body. No stronger, no weaker," Ness continued his interrogation.  
  
"That is correct," Dr. Andonuts replied, "you will also be able to use your PSI. And if you have the patience, and the Apple willing, I will construct some modules that can perhaps enhance your PSI powers and channel them into enhancement, making them more powerful."  
  
"No, it has to be exactly as if I was in my own body," Ness was even more concerned,  
"and this operation. How long will it take?"  
  
"A day for each of you," said Andonuts, "Meaning it will take a total of five days to transport you to the final outpost of Giygas, and collectively a week from now to rescue your own future."  
  
"Where is Dr. Saturn?," asked Ness, " will he be returning to confer with you? My companions are already sleeping in their provided quarters, and we are after all making use of his medical office."  
  
"Arrangements have already been made with Dr. Saturn for the entire endeavor," assured Dr. Andonuts, "the operation begins tomorrow. You have all made the proper preparations correct?"  
  
"Yes, so now my only question then is who will be first?," inquired Ness.  
  
"I'd feel safest performing the opening operation on my son, Jeff. You've become close friends with him, haven't you?," the doctor replied.  
  
"I care enough for him as a friend to ask for your most...your most serious care in performing the operation." said Ness.  
  
"Are you forgetting that he is my son? His operation is likely to be the most meticulous. And what of the prince?.....,"  
  
"I don't even expect that to be an issue," Ness exclaimed, "no one is expendable!!"  
  
"The order aside from my son being first is your choice, by the way." Andonuts implied.   
  
"Okay then. Poo shall be second. I shall be third, and Paula will be last," Ness requested.  
  
"As you wish. So be it then, the future of the world depends on the following week. Dr. Saturn should be arriving shortly. I suggest you return to your quarters with your companions , Ness," said the doctor.  
  
"Good night Doctor, you can't begin to imagine.....," Ness's voice trailed off as he embarked into the Saturn Valley night.


	2. Doubting the Sandman

_CHAPTER 2_  
  
"Dr. Saturn, administer the anesthesia," sweat already drip-dropped from the forehead of an anxious Dr. Andonuts, who would be responsible for putting his own son under the knife. It was times like these that the brilliant scientist would remember the cause at hand. Of course, he could only get more nervous anyway.  
  
"BOING! HERE IT IS!," Dr. Saturn might as well be Dr. Andonuts's  
Saturnian counterpart. Technically, the creature was just as intelligent. The most intelligent creature in the entire wondrous colony known as Saturn Valley.   
  
"We need another dose, the levels are not high enough--," Dr. Andonuts lost his breath as a sleepy Ness strolled into the Saturn Valley Hotel room.  
  
"Doctor?!," Ness exclaimed, estranged by the sight of the operation being performed in the hotel room.  
  
"Why....er...Ness!," the doctor sputtered. "What are you doing....a-a-awake?"  
  
"May I ask _why_ you are operating on Jeff in his hotel room, while he's sleeping?," Ness a bit disgruntled looking over the complex setup of scientific equipment in a quaint valley hotel room.  
  
"The logic is quite simple," Dr. Andonuts was about to explain.  
  
Dr. Saturn cut in, "BOING! THE DOC ANT KNOW HIS SON IS SCARED. NOW WAS ONLY TIME COULD DO!"  
  
"Ohhhhh, I see," Ness chuckled, calmly, "I'll see you tomorrow then. Do you plan on finishing by morning?"  
  
"We believe so Ness," replied Dr. Andonuts in a comforting tone.   
  
"Okay then, take care of Jeff!," Ness exited and returned to his own hotel room.  
  


***  
  


"Whahoah, whoa, where am I?!," Jeff Andonuts exclaimed as his conscience, his soul was hurled through a blur of color and life. The timid teen genius could not get a hold of himself. Or a hold of reality for that matter.  
  
"It's me Jeff," a familiar voice pierced the intensity of the atmosphere.  
  
"Wh-who??," Jeff couldn't fathom what he was hearing.  
  
"Me!," the voice replied sprightly.  
  
"And who would th-th-that be??," the boy genius further attempted to get a grip on the situation.  
  
"You, Jeff! It's you!," the omniscient voice cheered.  
  
"No way, this is against better judgement," Jeff still manages to put his scientific blather to work, despite the fact that he was tumbling through a mess of colors, past events and light, "it is physically impossible for a single compound organism to communicate in dialogue directly with itself."  
  
"You want to talk sense?," the voice challenged. "You can throw your technical nonsense out the window considering that we're not in physical space."  
  
"Alright then, where are we?," Jeff sighed, out-debated by himself.  
  
"Want to get technical?," Jeff's voice once again bickered forth. "Don't say we, I am you and you are me so we are one entity and should not be referred to in any plural."  
  
"Ugh, I'm annoying," Jeff once again defeated, corrected himself.  
  
"Well then, I am well on my way to my proposition," Jeff's voice spoke more calmly.  
  
"Wha....oh that means me," Jeff concluded. "What proposition?"  
  
"Right now, my father is transferring my soul as data into an android," Jeff's conscience explained.   
  
"Was that not supposed to take place tomorrow?," Jeff still was getting a hold of himself speaking to his own conscience.  
  
"No, that's why you're in your mind," Jeff's conscience continued, "your physical being has been temporarily eliminated by dad so all that you have left right now is your conscience, and your soul."  
  
"Simply amazing....." things were starting to make sense for Jeff Andonuts.  
  
"I shall be free now....free to wander my innermost thoughts....to analyze them....to find the real Jeffrey Andonuts," said Jeff's conscience, "I don't have much time I guess, so I'll be on my way now. I am always here, Jeff."  
  
"My theories regarding the correspondence between emotional conscience and superior mental accument definitely need some rethinking. I suppose now would be the perfect time to research," Jeff once again turned his train of thought to science as the movement of his soul ceased and the boy rose to traverse his dream collection.   
  
"Stop right there good friend!!," a familiar likeness sifted through the blurs that were Jeff's thoughts and appeared before Jeff.  
  
"Is that you?!," Jeff was once again deeply puzzled.  
  
"It's me silly! How could you have forgotten your old buddy, Jeff?!," who else but Jeff's old boarding school roomie and best friend revealed himself.  
  
"Tony?! What are you doing in my head??," Jeff exclaimed, somewhat frightened.  
  
Tony said, "I'm always in your head Jeff. I've been in your head since the first time I met you!"  
  
"Aggh! I knew there was more to our friendship than met the eye! Why were you always following me around?," Jeff tends to jump to conclusions on rare occasions like this.  
  
"I don't think you understand Jeffrey," Tony explained, "all your memories of me are stored in that impressive databank you call your mind. Everyone's in your head Jeff."  
  
"That's....ridiculous!," Jeff was due for another scientific rant.  
  
"Before you get scientific Jeff, just remember, the imagination knows no bounds of science," Tony once again explained, "or any other realistic concept for that matter."  
  
"Very well," Jeff concluded as Tony's likeness dissipated before him, "I'll get to the bottom of....my mind I guess." Jeff proceeded along to descend a multi-colored pathway textured like the coils of his brain.  
  
"How long should that take?," Jeff's only company now was his own conscience.  
  
"Alright, if this is my mind," Jeff declared, "then right here, right now, I'm banishing my....conscience. I don't care how hard I have to concentrate."  
  
"Hahaha, you think it's that easy," Jeff's consciene rebutted, "why don't you take another step into the darkness that lies before you??"  
  
"Is this not my mind, where all my dreams exist?," Jeff asked.  
  
"Yes, but it is also where your nightmares exist," Jeff's conscience, who was no longer showing the good side of Jeff, finally took upon the likeness of Jeff himself. It didn't hesitate to try and take control of Jeff's soul.  
  
"Ugh," Jeff collapsed to his knees as Jeff clutched at his head. He reached for his gaia beam, and fired off a blast of rage and anguish, "Nyaaaaaggghh!!!!"   
  
Jeff's Nightmare was hurled forth, tumbling backwards before immediately recovering with blinding speed. Jeff proceeded to fire again, much more calmed. The nightmare was not phased. Nor did the nightmare speak throughout the duration of the battle.  
  
"How am I supposed to--nugh!!," Jeff felt a pain like he had never felt before. The nightmare just stood defiant, a blank stare in its eyes as Jeff collapsed in pain. He felt like he was being torn apart from the inside. Jeff's rage accumulated once again as he fired a blast from his gaia beam. Jeff's nightmare was blown off into the distance, and Jeff once again calmed himself with a feeling of security. Jeff realized that any of his friends would have utilized their PSI to defeat the foe. Jeff knew he lacked that, and by sheer will he conquered the darkness. "I suppose now that the dark side of my soul has been destroyed," Jeff puffed, "I have reached the utmost level of mental purity. This must be what happened to Ness at the fire spring. He would be proud of me. But then again, so would.....  
  



	3. Stepping in Poo

_CHAPTER 3_  
  
"Jeff, wake up!!," Dr. Andonuts lightly tapped the new chrome noggin of his son, "This doesn't make sense, he should have escaped this passive status right now!!"  
  
"I'm right here father!," Jeff called out to his father, who appeared before him in his dream state. Still, father and son were divided by a wall of light. Jeff experiences a feeling of being heaved upward towards a flash of light. The boy genius opens his new eyes.  
  
"There you are my son!," a pleased reaction from Dr. Andonuts. Jeff was once again in his Saturn Valley hotel room.  
  
"Dad? *Chhhkkt*," Jeff buzzed through his new mouth.  
  
"I knew you would come to!," Dr. Andonuts polished off Jeff's new metallic head.  
  
"I already had! *Buzzt* Err....aaagggghhhh!!!!," Jeff finally realized what he had become.  
  
"It's not supposed to be that comfortable Jeff," Dr. Andonuts explained, "but you must get used to it if you want to salvage your entire universe. Or at least take part in it for that matter.  
  
"That's more like it," Jeff got vertical and moved about in fluid motion, "where's my stuff?"  
  
"Not just yet my son," Dr. Andonuts warned tonefully, "you had better relax and let the gears and the sesser engine clean itself before you become too active. In the meantime I shall begin operation on the prince."  
  
Jeff asked calmly, "Is he sleeping? Like I was when you decided to ambush me with the operation?"  
  
"Forgive me, it was for the best," the doctor chuckled. "And yes, I will 'ambush' Poo's operation as well."  
  
"Very well then, good night!," Jeff retires from the area as Poo's operation begins.  
  


***  
  


"What is this feeling?," Prince Poo Tangoo of Dalaam awoke from his sleep. He found himself face to face with the legendary Starmaster he had come to know, set in a sea of light.  
  
"It is your spirit Poo," the Starmaster boomed, "you are unconcious in worldly life."  
  
"Then would I not exist only in my mind?," Poo inquired, recalling upon his knowledge of Mu.  
  
"You destroyed the 'mind' during the course of your Mu training," the Starmaster explained.  
  
"You are concious now only in your spirit," continued the Starmaster, "you have unified your mind with the more powerful entity of spirit. A silhouette of an old man appeared in the distance. As he approached Poo, the light revealed him to be Poo's earthly master, Yagi.  
  
"Most mortals, such as your friends, who in life are experiencing the same undertaking,"  
Master Yagi explained, "they must suffer in their minds until they are recalled to life."  
  
"I am superior to them then, in spirit," Poo concluded.  
  
"You have the ability due to your training," Master Yagi explained, "to roam your psyche freely without the obstructions of the darkness you destroyed."  
  
"Such ignorance...." A sinister voice projected amongst the three Mu warriors, familiar to all three.  
  
"Ignore it!," Master Yagi immediately instructed.  
  
"No master, it exists!!," Poo shouted, frightened.  
  
"Not unless you believe it does!," the Starmaster insisted. The Starmaster was indeed the undisputed master of the Mu discipline.  
  
"I hear it before my ears, therefore it must exist, and it threatens me," Poo concluded. "Therefore I must destroy it." With that, Poo disappeared from the sea of light, leaving his masters in a state of disapproval and worry.  
  
"He is allowing the darkness to conquer his purity," Starmaster expressed his worry. "He is still a boy at heart."  
  
"No, you are contradicting yourself Starmaster," Master Yagi objected, "if we have faith in him.....if we believe that he can block out what seems to threaten him..." The sea of light finally gave way to the darkness, the masters themselves accepting the existence of this evil power. The same evil power that has plagued the training of every Mu, student and master alike.


	4. Belching Prince, Puking Demon

_CHAPTER 4_  
  
"I must destroy.....des--agggghhh!!!," the Dalaamese prince contstricted each and every one of his powerful, well-toned muscles in pain.  
  
"I once thought you to be my most worthy adversary, Prince Poo Tangoo of Dalaam," the evil elemental appeared as a dark mist, coiling around the soul of the young prince. "I never would have thought, even with my unlimited intelligence that such a trivial last attempt to best your powerful spirit would prove so successful."  
  
"But you are wrong, evil one," it was remarks like that that the prince drew strength from. "Reveal yourself, and by the entire Tangoo Dynasty I shall destroy you, and avenge the souls of my ancestors."  
  
"You continue to disappoint me," the evil elemental explained, "the only 'form' that exists here is spirit. But so be it, I shall crush your confidence and taint that very spirit once and for all." The elemental's presence vanished, as Poo smelled his own blood.   
  
It was not blood from his body; however, the corrupted souls of his ancestors would make sure that Poo would be the next in line for the Tangoo dynasty.  
  
Poo advances but is attacked by several of his ancestors who were corrupted by the Evil Element ages ago. They are simply known as the Tangoo, and often inhabit the caves and other dark places in Poo's homeland.  
  
"Had enough of this 'physical form'?," the elemental questioned snidely.  
  
"How dare you pit my ancestors against me!! Kyah!!," an angered Poo battle cried as a horde of demons rushed forth from the darkness. They were no match for an angry Mu warrior. Especially one as fearsome as Prince Poo.  
  
"How many more of your nightmares shall we traverse," another snide question from the Evil Element.  
  
"Ughh...." The prince was exhausted.  
  
"Very well, I shall finish you off myself!!," the elemental declared, taking the form of a demonic mirror of Prince Poo.  
  


* * *  


  
The sword of kings, from the carcass of a slain super starman....  
  
The cloak of kings, from the land of the lost beasts....  
  
The diadem of kings, the Pink Cloud in his native Dalaam....  
  
The bracer of kings, from the maze beneath where the Tendas lurk....  
  


* * *  


  
Out of his wrath, Prince Poo called upon the only remaining artifacts of purity from his dynasty and had faith that the Evil Element was no match for him. That belief, that faith was all it took to slay the Evil Element in the spirit of Prince Poo Tangoo. Not another muscle was flexed. The darkness then gave way to the sea of light once again.  
  
"Prince Poo!," Master Yagi called the young warrior from the depths of the sea of light, "are you...."  
  
"I am the master of the universe, my lords," Poo chuckled, arrogantly levitating in the air. Starmaster and Master Yagi have reached Poo in the sea of light that is Poo's spirit.  
  
"Say what?," the Starmaster replied, even himself confused despite his infinite wisdom.  
  
"I am the master of MY universe...the only universe a Mu needs to know," Poo responded majestically.  
  
"It is the dawn of a new era Yagi," the Starmaster announced as Poo floated towards the light.  
  
"You mean he is....," Master Yagi knew where the Starmaster was going.....  
  
"....Superior to us," the Starmaster responded confidentally, "I shall teach him the final skill once he returns to reality. Poo had become the ultimate Mu master through the purification of his own spirit. Perhaps that is what Mu is all about....  
  
The sea of light dissipates.....Poo returns to reality with a brand new soul.....  
  


***  


  
"That should do it," Dr. Andonuts tightened the last bolt, "it may take a while to get used to Prince Foo."  
  
"That's Poo," even in his new android state, the young warrior's spirit was still strong enough to allow levitation.  
  
"Oh my, I've never seen such an instantaneous...." the doctor reacted. "Well then again, I've only done one other operation. Thank you so much for instilling this confidence in my work Foo!  
  
"Poo," the prince corrected. Little did they know just how much his instillment would mean to the fate of the world.  
  
"Sorry Poo," apologized Dr. Andonuts.  
  
"The purity of my spirit will see to it that my friends are safe, Doctor," and with that, Prince Poo floated off into the fields of Saturn Valley. It was time for an absolution.  
  


***  
  


"Doctor," Ness sighed, soon to be the only remaining human member of his team.  
  
"I'll take special care of her," Dr. Andonuts assured Ness.  
  
"Okay....I trust you," said Ness as Dr. Andonuts walked off with Dr. Saturn to Paula's hotel room. Ness had never been so nervous in his entire life. 'Will I be even more nervous when it comes time for my operation?,' Ness thought to himself, returning to his own quarters to think it all over.  
  
  
  
  



	5. Welcome to my Nightmare

_CHAPTER 5  
_  
'Just trust him...just trust him,' Ness thought to himself, as he stared into the deep darkness of the Saturn Valley Hotel room ceiling, 'he didn't become a world-renowned scientific genius by messing up on stuff like this...'   
  
Ness repeated this to himself over and over again, but to no avail. It seemed like hours, and still he would not feel comfortable enough to fall asleep. Not for a second. Earlier in the day Jeff and Poo had told him of the inner-mind adventures they went through as Dr. Andonuts was operating on them. And now, Ness wondered if it was really the fear of having a similar experience that worried him.  
  
'Maybe I just need some fresh air,' Ness thought again, unraveling the cozy Saturnian bedsheets and sliding out onto the floor, which was just as dark as the ceiling. He proceeded to stagger towards the light switch, through complete darkness. 'This is odd...not even any moonlight coming in through the windows....'   
  
The teenage hero soon realized that he had been walking far enough to cover a distance several times the length of the room. He definitely should have come to a wall or some other obstruction by now. This revelation made him uneasy, and frightened. He grimaced as a chill of anxiety crawled up his backbone. And Ness was known for having A LOT of backbone. No one could argue that he was a very brave boy indeed.   
  
Swiftly he decided it might be a good idea to ignore this disturbing phenomenon and return to his bed.  
  
'You've got to be kidding me...' a lead ball dropped in his stomach as he came face to face with a heavily stamped crate. It stood at a height slightly below his own 5'2". He recognized it immediately and started run away from it, back towards the light switch. Once again he was only met with an endless stretch of blackness. And when he turned around, the crate was still right there, as if he hadn't run at all.   
  
Here Ness came to another realization. It shocked his nerves and blew his mind.  
  
'I know what this is!!!....Dr. Andonuts is already operating on me!!...I'm inside my head!!!...' Unlike most children, Ness had always been able to have significant control over the events of his dreams. So he closed his eyes, tight in concentration and...  
  
"Ha!!" Ness opened his eyes and exhaled with satisfaction. His mind had been strong enough to dream forth his current weapon of choice, a well-educated (Magicant) bat. And now that he was no longer without it, he did not hesitate to swing at the threatening crate. As the wood shattered, the most important 13-year-old in the world gasped and flinched. The contents of the crate were as he expected...  
  
The Evil Mani Mani statue. A golden condensation of pure malice and ungodly power. It had haunted Ness since the beginning of his epic journey. And how ironic, that he would meet it again in this dream. For the statue was in every sense of the word a true nightmare.   
  
Instinct took over and Ness swung again. Hitting nothing but air, confusion swept over him as the statue proceeded to...duplicate?!   
  
'What could be worse than having to deal with that statue again?,' Ness often thought to himself. And now, the answer to that question stood before him: four of those statues.   
  
"What?!," Ness shouted aloud. In horrified anger, he swung upwards. No good. All four statues seemed like ghosts, as his bat whiffed right through the second statue. And though this outburst caused no damage whatsoever, (much to the boy's dismay) the Evil Mani Manis decided to retaliate in unison with a PSI blast. Ness's own "PSI Rockin" attack, to be specific.   
  
"Yagggggghh!!," Ness felt a pain unlike any he had ever felt before. By the time he regained his composure, he knew that he had to get rid of those nightmare dolls, before it was too late. 'Another blast like that will wipe me out,' he thought, gritting his teeth.  
  
'Now which one is the real one...,' Ness could obviously not take the risk of whiffing. They wouldn't attack him as long as he didn't attack them. Unless of course he managed to choose the right one to attack, and destroy it. Nothing can perform PSI if it's dead.  
  
'Think...where would the real Mani Mani be....,' Ness couldn't stare at the statues for much longer. There was just something about that glow, that unchanging stare. It had the power to remind him over and over again that despite all the trials and hardships he had overcome thus far, he was still only a 13-year-old boy. Still just a mere child.   
  
"No!!," Ness defied. He wouldn't let it remind him again. 'The real Mani Mani...the real Mani Mani would be....'  
  
"Behind me!!! Where it belongs!!!" Ness violently pivoted 180 degrees. He never even saw the freezing red glare of the true statue's eyes. His bat saw it first, leaving Ness himself to watch the remains of evil gold dissipating into the darkness.   
  
'No more,' he thought powerfully.... 'No more.'   
  
Suddenly a sharp, painful, high-pitched humming filled Ness's head. But he was ready for it. He knew this was the same thing that happened after he defeated the Mani Mani in Magicant. All he had to do was suffer for a couple of minutes, and black out. Then he would return to the waking world.  
  
_To be continued in Chapter 6..._  
  



End file.
